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Utahraptor
Utahraptor is a dromaeosaurid from the Barremian Stage of the Early Cretaceous, living in what is now North America. Related to Deinonychus and Velociraptor, Utahraptor is the largest dromaeosaur known to science. Utahraptor is also a member of the Dromaeosaurinae, a group of dromaeosaurids that relied heavily on their jaws to kill their prey. Information Utahraptor was a very large dromaeosaur, the biggest member of its' family. It was about 2-2.5 meters tall, 6-7 meters long, and weighed about 500 kilograms. It lived from 128.5 to 123.5 MYA during the Barremian Stage of the early Cretaceous and is closely related to Achillobator and Dromaeosaurus. Its skeletal design was birdlike; with bones that were hollow, but strong. Recent fossil discoveries of more complete skeletons of Utahraptor by James Kirkland et al. paint a picture also of a dromaeosaur that was more heavily-built and stocky than the "typical" Deinonychus body plan generally associated with other dromaeosaurs. The legs were short and stocky, while the tail was also relatively short in comparison to that of related forms. The jaws were most unusual, with the front of the lower jaw bent forward and down. Utahraptor and other dromaeosaurs might have had binocular vision, like that of an eagle. Its hearing was probably excellent. Scientists recently discovered that raptors in general could best hear low frequency sounds. Dromaeosaurs like Utahraptor, regardless of size, were all covered in feathers according to cladistic analysis. Though feathers from the arms were known to be true feathers in other dromaeosaurs such as Dakotaraptor and Velociraptor, the rest of the dinosaur's plumage is speculative (though fossil finds of smaller species exhibit many of the same types of feathers that are found in modern birds, In Utahraptor, the exact plumage type is not known). The feathers on the arms of young dromaeosaurids would have enabled a special type of locomotion called wing-assisted incline running, or WAIR for short. Discovered by Ken Dial, a Montana zoologist, this is a behavior used by modern birds that combines flapping the wings back and forth while running up the sides of trees. This flapping pushes the feet of the bird against the tree, allowing it to run vertically up the trunk. This indicates, but does not prove, that small dromaeosaurs lived part-time in the trees. In larger species, the wing feathers may have helped to maintain balance while attacking prey. Utahraptor’s diet consisted predominantly of large herbivorous dinosaurs, like Iguanacolossus, Gastonia, and Cedarosaurus. As with all predators, Utahraptor likely targeted animals such as the infirm, weak and inexperienced. Scavenging was also probably a preferable opportunity when there was access to a carcass. Like most dromaeosaurine dromaeosaurids, Utahraptor probably relied on its jaws to kill prey more than other subfamilies of dromaeosaurs did. As a result and based on the analysis of related species like Dromaeosaurus, which included bone in its diet, Utahraptor probably had an extremely powerful bite as a result. In-Game Utahraptor will be in the early access of Prehistoric Kingdom. One skin, nicknamed "Stark", is depicted with a naked, vulture-like head and neck. Gallery Utahraptor_skin_option.jpg DmgLpyWU8AAs3Fn.jpg UtahraptorOntogeny.jpg|''Utahraptor'' ontogeny Utahraptor_01_Preview.png|Quidel Utahraptor_02_Preview.png|Stark Utahraptor_03_Preview.png|Woodchip O 1dtecn60a19uml1s1k6qavddlcap (1).jpg O_1dtectlc7155mvhsugp11ddd81bd_(1).jpg Category:Dinosaurs Category:Theropod Category:Carnivore